The 2011–12 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
in the
2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans' head coach was
Tom Izzo
Thomas Michael Izzo (, ; born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Izzo has le ...
, who was in his 17th year at Michigan State. The team played its home games at the
Breslin Center in
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 47,741. The city is located immediate ...
, and were members of the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
. MSU finished with a record of 29–8, 13–5 in
Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for first place. The Spartans also won the
Big Ten tournament. The Spartans received a No. 1 seed in the
NCAA tournament, their 15th consecutive trip to the tournament, and reached the Sweet Sixteen, losing to
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
.
Previous season
The
Spartans
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern P ...
finished the
2010–11 season with an overall record of 19–15, 9–9 in
Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. Michigan State received a No. 10 seed in the
NCAA tournament, their 14th straight trip to the tournament, and were eliminated in the second round.
Offseason
The Spartans lost
Durrell Summers (11.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game) and
Kalin Lucas (17.0 points and 3.4 assists per game) to graduation following the season.
2011 recruiting class
Season summary
Senior
Draymond Green
Draymond Jamal Green (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the Power forward (basketball), power forward pos ...
(16.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game) was the unquestioned leader for the Spartans. MSU started the season unranked and suffered a loss to No. 1
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
in the
Carrier Classic
The Carrier Classic was a series of college basketball games that were played on the deck of a U. S. Navy aircraft carrier. The first game was held on November 11, 2011, aboard , between Michigan State and North Carolina. President Barack Ob ...
which was played on the aircraft carrier
USS Carl Vinson in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
in the first game of the season.
The teams wore special camouflage uniforms for the event.
MSU followed that loss with a loss to No. 6
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
in the
Champions Classic. Starting the season 0–2, the Spartans refused to fold. MSU won the next 15 games in a row to jump into the top ten in the polls. The wins in the streak included a win at No. 23
Gonzaga. The Spartans finished the non-conference schedule at 11–2 and ranked No. 16 in the country.
The winning streak continued in
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...
play with wins over No. 13
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, and at No. 11
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. MSU also beat No. 23
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, No. 3
Ohio State, and No. 15 Wisconsin at Breslin Center. A loss in the regular season finale at home to No. 10 Ohio State meant the Spartans would share the
Big Ten regular season championship with Ohio State and Michigan, all of which finished the Big Ten season with a 13–5 conference record.
In that loss to Ohio State, key freshman reserve,
Branden Dawson, tore his
ACL, ending his season.
The Spartans finished the season ranked No. 8 in the country. The Spartans, due to tiebreak rules, were the No. 1 seed in the
Big Ten tournament and beat
Iowa
Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, No. 14 Wisconsin, and No. 7 Ohio State to win the tournament championship. Draymond Green earned
Big Ten Player of the Year honors, the fifth time a player had done so under Tom Izzo.
Izzo was also named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
MSU received a No. 1 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament, where they beat
LIU–Brooklyn in the first round behind Green's
triple-double. The Spartans overcame
Saint Louis in the second round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. This marked the 10th time in 15 seasons that the Spartans advanced to at least the Sweet Sixteen. The Spartans, missing Dawson and struggling offensively, became the first No. 1 seed to lose in the tournament, falling to No. 17 and fourth-seeded Louisville, 57–44.
Roster
Schedule and results
, -
!colspan=9 style=, Exhibition
, -
!colspan=9 style=, Non-conference regular season
, -
!colspan=9 style=,
Big Ten regular season
, -
!colspan=9 style=,
Big Ten tournament
, -
!colspan=9 style=,
NCAA tournament
, -
Player statistics
Source
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
Source
Awards and honors
Draymond Green
* Big Ten Player of the Year
* AP All-American (unanimous)
* Sporting News All-American First Team
* USBWA All-American
* NABC All-American First Team
* NABC Player of the Year
* USBWA District V Player of the Year
* Big Ten All Defensive Team
* NABC All-District First Team
Tom Izzo
* Big Ten Coach of the Year
* USBWA District V Coach of the Year
* NABC Division I Coach of the Year
Branden Dawson
* All Big Ten Honorable Mention (Media)
* Big Ten All-Freshman Team
Keith Appling
* All Big Ten Third Team
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Michigan State Spartans Men's Basketball Team
Michigan State Spartans men's basketball seasons
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...
2011 in sports in Michigan
2012 in sports in Michigan
Big Ten men's basketball tournament championship seasons